Harsh criticism of ÖBB

Uproar over chaos with too many ÖBB trains

All too often, trains on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn come to a standstill (symbolic image)

(Bild: P. Huber)

Cancellations, delays! And commuters are left behind. Now the Lower Austrian transport councillor is bursting at the seams. What Udo Landbauer has to say to the railroad managers.  

Udo Landbauer is angry. And he shares this feeling with thousands of rail commuters in Lower Austria. After all, delays and train cancellations seem to be the norm rather than the exception at the moment. "The quality of the ÖBB service has reached a new low, especially on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn," rumbles the regional transport councillor (FPÖ). And Landbauer says clearly: "This situation is unacceptable and unacceptable for our commuters!"

Commuters miss connections
What makes Landbauer so upset: "The chaos on the railroads costs the people affected a lot of nerves, time and money." Commuters often switch to their cars because they miss connections to other train or bus lines due to delays and train cancellations.

Landbauer is angry because "the quality of the ÖBB service has reached a new low."

(Bild: SEPA.Media | Martin Juen)

Journey home often takes longer
The regional transport councillor also identifies massive problems with the construction site timetable on the Südbahn line: "The connections to regional trains to Aspang, Puchberg or Gutenstein, which commuters want to use to get home in the evening, are particularly affected."

It is always important to us to get our passengers to their destinations safely and reliably. Every train that is not on time or even canceled is therefore just as annoying for ÖBB as it is for our passengers.

DI Christopher Seif, ÖBB-Pressesprecher für Niederösterreich

Rail expansion: a marathon instead of a sprint
"Although the punctuality figures have fallen compared to the previous year, they are still at 92 percent in the eastern region," says railroad spokesman Christopher Seif. And after all, "more than half of Austria's local passenger transport is handled by rail" in this region. Delays are often caused by external events such as traffic accidents or people on the tracks. In addition, billions are currently being invested in the infrastructure: "Equipping the rail network for the mobility transition is not a sprint, but a marathon," says Seif. Construction work is being carried out in the summer because this is the "less busy time".

Improvements demanded
Landbauer is calling on ÖBB management to take swift action to improve the situation for commuters: "This is not on! It must be possible to run a proper timetable even during the summer construction period."